In the early days of the Roman Republic there was a clan whose men sacrificed themselves for the good of the republic. The book starts around 485BC and paints the Fabii as standing next to Romulus when the city was founded.

So you don’t really get earlier than that. The Fabii Maximi were part of military and political elite until the end of the republic, which ended with civil wars, political assassinations and political street brawls.

This family seems to be the first is a long line of famous Italian families that shape roman history. The Fabii almost has this mythical status and the author has done well to piece together sources to give us this history in a really easy to follow book.

Early and late Roman history is growing on me and this book goes a long way to fill in some gaps in the bigger history. My Roman history covers a bit of Roman Britain, but this book has created a thirst for more. The book covers the role of Fabii during the period of Hannibal’s invasion. While the author doesn’t come out and say the Fabii were the reason Hannibal was defeated at Cannae. The chapter on the Fabian way covers their response to the invasion and how they arrested the Roman army pitch battle defeats.

The book provides a huge number of resources in the appendix on Republic sources of information. This goes on to share online translation of republic historical sources. Again I am amazed at howe much of this stuff survives. You see the ruins of Rome but I don’t think about all the documents that are still knocking around.

If anyone is interested in this period then this book is a useful addition to your bookshelf. It is a very interesting and slightly different look at Hannibal’s invasion and other wars such as the Spanish and Gallic wars.

One of the series of books looking at the groups that defeated and replaced Rome. In the case of the Franks, this Germanic tribe took over Gaul, and gave its name Francia / France.

The book looks at the fighters, weapons and tactics the franks used against the Romans which ultimately led to their victory against the late Roman Army at Casilinum (just north of modern day Capua) in 554AD.

While lots of us think that the fall of the Roman Empire was more about the breakdown of the Roman war machine, the book shows us that the Franks were sophisticated soldiers that were able to fight in pitch battles and defeat armies.

But it didn’t start there, the book takes us through a period of around 250 years from the first Frankish incursions into Gaul.

My favourite chapter is chapter 9, which discusses the Frankish way of war. It is also interesting that most of the commentary and knowledge about this comes from Roman authors.

A few things I learned from the book. The Angon or barbed spear, sounds like a huge barbed arrow was a favoured weapon. Also while lots of the Germanic tribes fought on horseback, the Franks did fight both as cavalry but mainly on foot as infantry, at least this is what our Roman authors would have us believe.

The book also provides some insights to the roman cavalry tactics of the time.

For anyone is interested in the late Roman, early medieval period, this book is a great read, I found it is easy but very informative read. The maps and chronologies where fantastic and I can see myself referring to them again and again.

Also the lists of the Roman army in Gaul staggers me as I never realised this stuff was still in existence. I can see this being a great book for military historians, wargammers and period reenactors. I would highly recommend this book.

The Two-Handed Sword

The two-handed swords found in modern museums are often so large and elaborately decorated that the onlooker might question whether such an apparently impractical weapon could ever have been a serious weapon of war. Yet during the Late Middle Ages, although never numerous, such weapons could instil dread in those that faced them on the battlefield and in skilled hands posed a very real danger, being capable of inflicting fearsome wounds.

Neil Melville explains how, from the late-13th century, technological advances made the development of larger swords requiring both hands both possible and desirable. From their origins in Germany he traces their development and divergence into regional variations. He examines the evidence for their use on the battlefield over 300 years, most notably in the hands of the Swiss, the German landsknechts and the Scottish clans, before considering their later use in fencing and as ceremonial weapons. Practical advice on fighting with the two-handed sword is also given, drawing on contemporary fencing manuals. The detailed and informative text is beautifully enhanced by dozens of illustrations.

Medieval Combat in Colour

Hans Talhoffer’s professional fencing manual of 1467 illustrates the intricacies of the medieval art of fighting, covering both the ‘judicial duel’ (an officially sanctioned fight to resolve a legal dispute) and personal combat.

Combatants in the Middle Ages used footwork, avoidance, and the ability to judge and manipulate timing and distance to exploit and enhance the sword’s inherent cutting and thrusting capabilities. These skills were supplemented with techniques for grappling, wrestling, kicking and throwing the opponent, as well as disarming him by seizing his weapon. Every attack contained a defence and every defence a counter-attack. Talhoffer reveals the techniques for wrestling, unarmoured fighting with the long sword, pole-axe, dagger, sword and buckler, and mounted combat.

This unparalleled guide to medieval combat, illustrated with 268 contemporary images, provides a glimpse of real people fighting with skill, sophistication and ruthlessness. This is one of the most popular and influential manuals of its kind.

Medieval Armoured Combat

The “Gladiatoria” group of German fencing manuscripts are several editions of a treatise on armoured foot combat, specifically aimed at duel fighting.

Gloriously-illustrated, and replete with substantial commentary, these works are some of the greatest achievements in the corpus of late medieval fight books. These works have both tremendous artistic merit and incalculable historical value.

In this remarkable full colour volume, authors Dierk Hagedorn and Bart&#322;omiej Walczak elegantly present their work on the copy of this treatise now in the Yale Center for British Art, including a reproduction of the manuscript, a full transcription, and translations into English.

The work includes a foreword by Sydney Anglo which explains how the work shows a highly sophisticated pedagogical system of movement and applauds the editors for presenting the material in a clear and practical way.

Additional essays discuss other aspects of the manuscript – including a tale of Dierk Hagedorn’s adventures tracking down the manuscript.

On Ancient Warfare

Richard Gabriel has been studying and writing about ancient warfare for nearly half a century. He has written fifty-five books on the subject (before this one) and over three hundred published articles. These decades of scholarship are complemented by direct military experience as a US army officer (now retired). This book presents his thoughts and perspectives on a selection of aspects of ancient warfare that he has found of particular interest over the years. It does not aim to be a comprehensive overview nor a coherent narrative of ancient military history but adds up to an illuminating, fascinating and wide-ranging discussion of various topics. With topics ranging from broad topics such as the origins of war, through logistics, military medicine and psychiatry or the origins of jihad, to specifics such as the generalship of Alexander the Great (Gabriel’s not a fan), Scipio and Hannibal, there is plenty here for the either the general reader or academic scholar.

The Military History of Late Rome 361-395

This is the second volume in an ambitious series giving the reader a comprehensive narrative of late Roman military history from AD 284-641. Each volume (5 are planned) gives a detailed account of the changes in organization, equipment, strategy and tactics among both the Roman forces and her enemies in the relevant period, while also giving a detailed but accessible account of the campaigns and battles.

This volume covers the tumultuous period from the death of Constantius II in AD 361 to the death of Theodosius. Among the many campaigns covered, it therefore includes the Emperor Julian’s fatal campaign against the Sassanian Persians and the disastrous defeat and death of Valens at Adrianople in 378. Such calamities illustrate the level of external threat Rome’s armies faced on many fronts in this difficult period.

Siege Warfare during the Hundred Years War

Histories of the Hundred Years War have been written, and accounts of the famous battles, but until now no book has concentrated on the sieges that played a decisive role in the protracted struggle between England and France. Edward III’s capture of Calais in 1347 was of crucial importance for the English, and the failure of the English siege of Orléans in 1429 was a turning point for the French after the disaster of Agincourt. Throughout the war, sieges were a major weapon in the strategic armouries of both sides, and Peter Hoskins’s perceptive and graphic study is a fascinating analysis of them.

He describes the difficulties faced by besieger and besieged, examines the logistics and resource implications of sieges, and provides a comparative assessment of siege warfare alongside set-piece battles and the English strategy of chevauchées. Key sieges are reconstructed in vivid detail, other sieges are summarized, and the book is fully illustrated with photographs and plans.

KDF Broadstairs attended Thronefest, the Game of Thrones event this past Sunday.With lots of stars from the shows, a medieval village, traders, re-enactors and lots of attractions (Jousting / Wolves / Birds of Prey) to see as well as props from the Show.We were invited to run a sword school which we gladly obliged.

The first thing to say is they promoted the event beautifully (massive queue) and it was very well laid it out too, we were practically the first thing people saw when they arrived on site, we had two early bird ticket holders literally launch themselves from the entrance at us – running, to book their workshop with us.Ha take that John Snow!

The idea was to run 20 – 25 minute workshops on the hour and half hour but it was clear my vision of a organised timetable was going to be short-lived.

During the day we had a steady stream of people come and attend a workshop where we literally got them through a taste of Leichtenauer (5 Meisterhau and 4 Leger).

Everyone took turns and we gave people pretty much one to one tuition.Not bad for a £5.It was good to see students following my mad ramblings and teaching as I teach them.Wow, this stuff sticks… shhh…

Our log showed we have around 30 participants during the day and we must have talked to a few hundred people during the course of the day as well.

Many cards were dished out and we already have enquiries for people attending practice.

If 5% of those cards turn into students we will need a bigger hall!There is are also a vision now of a second school running in Canterbury. But we will see!

There were other reenactment groups on scene and of course we have Games of Thrones own sword master Syria Forel running sword workshops too.I will not write down the words I muttered while watching the first 5 minutes of his workshop. I had to walk away otherwise I would have been arrested for assault. Not good (from a technical point of view), but hopefully people that paid for it feel that they got their monies worth.

I want to close by thanking our two sponsors that provided tools to help us run bigger workshops and it would have been the same without there support.

The KnightShop who provided some Rawlings Longswords and Kvetun Armoury that sent us two steel Feders (I can see these Feders becoming the goto for beginners looking for a steel. They handle extremely well).